Indian food regulators have increased enforcement in the food and beverage industry, focusing on labeling rules for liquor producers and hygiene standards for restaurants and delivery services. Multiple hotels and eateries in Maharashtra faced temporary closures for hygiene violations and warehouse issues.
The Food and Drug Administration suspended licenses for sixteen restaurants and e-commerce warehouses. This included one each for Bhagwati Store in Mumbai and Swinsta ENT Pvt Ltd in Pune. Permits for twelve warehouses belonging to Eternal, Swiggy and Zepto were also halted after inspectors found cockroach problems and spoiled produce.
The nationwide action by FSSAI and FDA followed reports of hygiene lapses, food adulteration, consumer complaints and misleading promotions. Checks uncovered rodent, cockroach and lizard presence, expired goods and broken refrigeration in luxury hotels, quick-commerce sites and restaurant chains.
Locations of Pizza Hut, KFC, McDonald’s, Subway, a Burger King outlet in Pune, Starbucks and Monginis received inspections, leading to 95 improvement notices and some temporary closures. Domino’s outlets also faced checks. The Maharashtra regulator suspended the license for Parle Agro’s Chembur warehouse after seizing expired Frooti, Appy Fizz and Candy Juice stock.
Ten manufacturing firms had licenses permanently revoked for quality and production breaches under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. Another 135 makers received show-cause notices for Good Manufacturing Practice failures. The FDA also issued notices to endorsers including Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff regarding a cardamom promotion suspected of promoting banned pan masala.
Several food operators challenged the suspensions in Bombay High Court and its Nagpur and Aurangabad benches. Courts have stayed or overturned some actions, stating that immediate suspensions without proper procedure are excessive unless a clear public health risk exists.
FSSAI noted that six companies have taken corrective steps on labeling after warnings, withdrawing misleading claims and updating packaging. One major spirits producer agreed to reformulate several popular liquor brands following a dispute over flavoring methods and related state bans.
